


Stay

by ardentaislinn



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Little bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-11
Updated: 2014-04-11
Packaged: 2018-01-18 22:46:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1445614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentaislinn/pseuds/ardentaislinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma demands to know why Killian wants her to stay in Storybrooke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay

“Why is it so important to you that I stay here, Killian?” Emma hissed.

Killian’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “You know why,” he told her.

She frowned, seeming genuinely confused. “No, Killian, I don’t. Because you haven’t told me.”

She still didn’t understand. After all he’d said and done, she was still wilfully blind to everything he was feeling. He sighed in exasperation.

“Fine. I’ll list the reasons, shall I? Firstly, because you spent your whole life searching for your family. Now you have them, you are perfectly willing to leave them all behind again. Secondly, because Henry deserves better than to live his entire life in a lie. Thirdly, Storybrooke needs you, and you need it.”

“They are reasons, yes,” Emma replied, her voice growing louder in frustration. “But why is it important to _you_?”

“Emma, stop pushing this. Trust me, you’ll regret hearing this answer.”

“So you are lying to me.”

“No! You know I wouldn’t do that,” he practically growled.

“Do I?”

“For Gods sake, Emma!” Killian exploded. “I have done everything I can to prove to you that you can trust me. That I would lay down my life for you. And yet you still can’t give me the courtesy to believe me!” Frustration seethed in his every word.

“You expect me to trust you when you can’t afford me the same consideration?” she beseeched him.

“It isn’t about that,” he tried to reassure her, but she was having none of it.

“Then what the hell _is_ it about?” The words were spat through gritted teeth.

“Emma, you forget how well I know you. If I shared what I went through to get to you in New York, you would feel in my debt. If I told you unequivocally why I want you to stay in Storybrooke, you would run for the hills. And I want neither of those things.” He was practically pleading with her not to pursue this, but Emma was not to be deterred.

“I need to know. I _deserve_ to know. You say that I shouldn’t keep Henry in the dark, and maybe you are right. So why are you doing the same to me?”

Killian’s eyes squeezed shut and he knew that she had won. “Just remember, I warned you,” he said darkly. He took a deep breath, and he told her the truth he had been concealing from her. “I don’t want you to leave because I’m selfish, Swan. I’d miss you. Terribly. You forget that I have already gone a year without seeing your face and it was utter _agony_. The thought of going through that again makes me ache to the depths of my soul. That you could willingly put me through that torture for a second time _hurts_. I am bereft without you; a ship adrift with no anchor. So, while I want you to stay for yourself, and for Henry, and for this town, I confess that I mostly just want you to stay because I love you.”

Emma sucked in a breath, her eyes wide. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she whispered after a long pause.

“Because, Emma, I thought you already knew,” he replied softly, taking her hand. It was all he could allow himself, no matter how badly he might want to take her into his arms.

Emma nodded, but stepped away from him. Her hand slipped out of his hold and Killian felt his heart splinter.

When she was at a safe distance, Emma paused and took a deep breath. “Killian, I…I don’t regret knowing,” she said softly, her eyes vulnerable. She gave him one last long look before she turned and walked away.

Killian felt a faint smile at the corners of his lips and allowed a small bloom of hope to take root in his chest. Then, he once again followed her to wherever she led.


End file.
